There was a lot about this book that I wanted to like, but I think my issues with the pace were too significant to thoroughly enjoy. This book goes at lightning speed while having a weird amount of descriptions and detail, especially about food. It clearly wanted the gothic atmosphere without the typical gothic length, and it really didn't strike a balance. We're told what Marion is like, and then she's thrown directly into the titular House of Hunger where she immediately falls head over heels for Lisavet. There's no slowly building sense of foreboding, no dizzying fall into all-consuming love. It's more like you trip and fall and the book's over. That being said, I did like the messages it conveyed.

I am not deducting points for the use of artery and vein like they're interchangeable but it happened often enough to be memorable.